


protect this place for you

by Svennie



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 03:11:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17154194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Svennie/pseuds/Svennie
Summary: "No, Juyeon, we arenotnaming our firstborn daughter Hello Kitty!"





	protect this place for you

**Author's Note:**

> merry christmas, everyone! have some jukyu from me because, as the intellectuals say, be the change you want to see in the world. let's get this bread, jukyu nation. (please, i just want some more jukyu.)
> 
> title from "keeper" because i'm unoriginal.

Juyeon is late.

Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue. Changmin knows from his own experiences that sometimes things get a bit hectic in the dance studio; choreography can get changed at the last minute, instructors can demand that everyone stay for more practice, and a myriad of other unexpected events. Sometimes two hours at the dance studio becomes three or four or even a departure at one in the morning when you had been initially planning to leave at seven in the evening.

What has Changmin worried, though, is the fact that Juyeon had texted upon leaving the dance studio.

That had been _two hours ago_. Despite Eric’s tendency to complain about how long the walk from their apartment complex to the studio they all go to is, the dance studio is not, in fact, located in Busan. It doesn’t take Changmin more than twenty minutes to walk home from there when he’s the one with a schedule. So what the hell is taking Juyeon so long to get home to their apartment?

And as if Changmin doesn’t have enough to think about, it’s already snowing out—the middle stages of a snowstorm that’s supposed to bury Seoul in at least half a foot of white powdery terror.

So yes. Changmin is allowed to be damn worried about his own boyfriend, thank you very much.

It’s just that—well, Juyeon is _Juyeon_.

Juyeon has hands probably as big as Changmin’s face but he can’t throw a punch at all. He’s tall and broad and those are probably enough to intimidate a stranger, but the moment Juyeon opens his mouth and speaks, everyone immediately realizes that, in reality, he’s soft and he gives the best and warmest hugs that Changmin has ever felt. You could probably lure Juyeon into a trap in the deepest part of the woods if you promise to give him enough Hello Kitty items.

The point here is, Juyeon could probably be somewhere in Jeonju right now for a variety of reasons and Changmin won’t know about it until the police find his dead body at the side of the road. Or something. And okay, maybe Changmin is getting a bit too worked up, and maybe Chanhee had been right when had said that Changmin can get a bit too neurotic when it comes to Juyeon.

But. Again. It’s _Juyeon_.

It’s the love of Changmin’s (admittedly still short) life, potentially stuck in that unforgiving snowstorm outside. How can Changmin not be worried out of his wits?

 

* * *

 

At around 9:30 P.M., three hours after Juyeon’s last text, and just when Changmin is ready to climb the walls in frustration and ready to throw his phone into the toilet because Juyeon won’t answer his calls or respond to his texts, the front door to their apartment opens.

Juyeon strides inside, carefree as can be, and Changmin resists the urge to throw Juyeon a dirty sock—there must be at least one buried somewhere in the corners of their old couch—from where he’s seated. How _dare_ Juyeon show up smiling that charming smile of his while Changmin had spent the last few hours worried sick, pacing the entirety of their apartment.

Changmin is a weak, weak man, though, and that huge smile on Juyeon’s face is working hard at destroying all of his negative energy. Changmin’s shoulders sag in relief, and he blasts a quick text at Chanhee to tell him that Juyeon is home safe, _finally_ , before turning to face the subject of his recent meltdown.

“Where have you been, stupid? You’re late. _Almost three hours late_.”

Juyeon, at least, has the grace to give him a sheepish look. “I can explain,” he says.

But his clothes are still quite wet and he’s shivering, just a tiny bit, and he’s also carrying a box—a box that’s _shaking_ —and a few bags that look a bit heavy, so Changmin spares him.

For the moment, anyway.

Changmin takes the bags from Juyeon, and they look to be filled with a bunch of pet paraphernalia, like a bed, a bag of food, some toys, among other things. There must be a tiny terror of an animal in the box, then. Changmin almost laughs because, really, this is _so typical_ of Juyeon.

(You see, Changmin and Chanhee have this running bet of how long it’ll take before Juyeon comes home to their new apartment with a stray animal. Changmin had bet on six months, while Chanhee had bet on two.

Needless to say, Chanhee is the winner here.)

Juyeon has such a big heart, and it’s one of the things Changmin absolutely adores about him. But it worries Changmin sometimes—because it can be so easy to break Juyeon’s heart, too. This animal that Juyeon had brought home... Well, what if it’s a raccoon? What if Changmin has to break the news to Juyeon that they can’t keep a raccoon in their apartment? It would make Juyeon sad and Changmin never ever wants to do that. Ever. Not after the birthday fiasco from earlier in the year.

But Juyeon puts the box on their coffee table and opens it, and in it is the tiniest kitten Changmin has ever seen. It’s white, with black patches along its ears and near its tail. “It’s a she!” Juyeon proudly says.

Changmin, still concerned about Juyeon getting a cold, pushes him away from the box and towards the bathroom. “Take a hot shower. We’ll talk about this after.”

 

* * *

 

As soon as Juyeon finishes his shower, and drinks some of the tea Changmin had prepared, Changmin raises an eyebrow at him, making it clear that he should start explaining.

“You know that corner bakery that Younghoon hyung likes? I passed by there, but I saw something move in the corner of my eye. It was her,” Juyeon says, gesturing at the kitten in his arms. (Juyeon hadn’t been able to resist after drinking his tea, and had quickly scooped her up in his arms.) “I couldn’t leave her there, not with the snowstorm coming, so I coaxed her to come with me. I went to the pet store first, and they were already closing down because of the snowstorm, but I showed them the kitten and I kinda begged them to let me in for a while so I can get stuff for her. The buses weren’t running anymore by the time I finished, so I walked back.”

He continues, “I was talking to Sangyeon hyung downstairs about it, and he agreed we can keep her! Probably because Jacob hyung sort of guilted him into agreeing as well, but I’ll take what I can get.” Juyeon shrugs a little. “That’s why I was late. It took a while to get everything from the store, and I couldn’t really run home, you know? Convincing Sangyeon hyung was surprisingly easy, though.”

“That’s because Sangyeon hyung likes to think he’s our cool dad, even though he pretends he doesn’t,” Changmin says first. Then he swallows, and takes a deep breath, because it really is no good to be mad at Juyeon when all this time he’s meant well. Even if Juyeon’s good intentions had made Changmin feel like he had aged ten years. “I was just... I was just worried. You’re safe here now, I know, but you could’ve sent a text while you were in the store. If I had known where you were, I would’ve gone there to pick you up. You and the kitten.”

When Juyeon starts to open his mouth, Changmin puts up a hand to stop him. And then Changmin continues, “But since you didn’t text, I couldn’t leave the apartment, because what if you came home suddenly and you needed me to take care of you for some reason? Or what if you came home but you couldn’t get in because you lost your keys on the way, and that’s why you were late? I almost forced Chanhee and Kevin to leave their own place just to look for you.”

Changmin doesn’t think it’s actually possible, but Juyeon’s eyes seem to soften even more. The sparkling excitement in his eyes, which had been brought about by his fervent explanation, slowly simmers into a warm kind of fondness—and Changmin silently sends a prayer of thanks to all the deities that he’s the lucky bastard that Juyeon had decided to love.

Juyeon puts the kitten down in her box, and then pulls Changmin into his arms. Changmin melts.

Lee Juyeon, a master of dirty tactics.

“I’m sorry for worrying you,” Juyeon says. Changmin hums in acknowledgment, trusting Juyeon to understand that it means he's forgiven. He had forgiven Juyeon the moment he had stepped into the apartment, safe and without any visible injuries, but Juyeon doesn’t need to know that. (Juyeon doesn’t need more evidence of how whipped Changmin is for him, honestly. He might take advantage.)

As if he can’t bear to be physically separated from the kitten for more than two seconds, Juyeon picks her up from the box again the moment he separates from Changmin.

“You’re disturbing her by doing that, you know,” Changmin remarks. Juyeon ignores him.

“And anyway, she’s so tiny! She’s like half the size of my hand—”

“That’s because you have freakishly large hands.”

“I love you with my entire heart, Ji Changmin, but please stop interrupting me.” Changmin can tell that Juyeon is trying to go for a strict tone, but his glare is playful and the anger doesn’t really work when Juyeon exudes teddy bear energy and has a sleeping kitten in his arms.

“As I was saying,” Juyeon continues, visibly careful not to rustle the kitten too much, “she’s all alone. And we _have_ been talking about getting a pet, and I know for a fact that we would’ve just ended up talking about it over and over again without doing anything. But here she is. So.”

“So,” Changmin begins. He already knows what’s in Juyeon’s mind, but he doesn’t want to be the first one to say it.

“Let’s keep her.”

Changmin pretends to be a bit hesitant, even though he had made his decision the moment he had seen Juyeon look at the kitten with something like adoration in his eyes. It’s so very easy to tease Juyeon, to rile him up and make him pout like a small child, at odds with Juyeon’s tall and broad frame.

“Changminnie,” Juyeon pleads, with a tiny bit of a whine in his voice. Juyeon claims not to know a single thing about aegyo, but he can act so cutely around Changmin, like it’s the most natural thing in the world for him to do. “We’ll be good parents to her.”

“How are you so sure that I’ll be a good parent?”

And Juyeon grins, easy and bright, and something in the echoing chambers of Changmin’s (already quite fragile) heart eases. Juyeon should be a heart surgeon, with the way he works magic with Changmin’s heart. “I know you, Changminnie,” he says. “You’re great with the kids at the studio. You’re kind and caring and you’ll be great with her, too.”

“Fine,” Changmin says, finally letting himself show a smile. He takes the kitten from Juyeon, pets her a little, and puts her on the bed Juyeon had bought. He had brought it out of the bag earlier, along with the other stuff, while Juyeon had been showering. Once she settles, he goes back to Juyeon, stands on his tiptoes, and plants a quick kiss on Juyeon’s lips. “You’re in charge of cleaning the litter box, though.”

 

* * *

 

For a while, after the fiasco dies down, it’s a quiet night—just the two of them, cuddling on the couch, and their new kitten, who is asleep again in her bed. And then:

“We should name her Hello Kitty.”

“No, Juyeon, we are _not_ naming our firstborn daughter Hello Kitty!”

“How about Kitty White?”

“That’s still Hello Kitty’s name!”

“What name do you have in mind then, genius?”

“How about,” Changmin pauses for a while. “...Tteokbokki?”

Juyeon throws one of his dirty socks at Changmin. It ends up with them trying to tickle each other, falling off the couch, and subsequently waking up the kitten from her nap. Changmin tries his damn hardest not to melt into their living room carpet when Juyeon coos at her and rocks her back to sleep.

And because Ji Changmin is absolutely in love with Lee Juyeon, and can’t deny Juyeon anything that is in his power to give, they end up naming the kitten Hello Kitty anyway.

 

* * *

 

(A week later and Changmin is definitely Hello Kitty’s favorite human.

Juyeon tries not to pout too much about it. After all, Changmin is his favorite human too.)

**Author's Note:**

> this is actually part of a larger universe i'm planning out. but as of the moment, there's nothing really concrete, so i haven't made a series title for this just yet.
> 
> eric is their neighbor who goes to the same dance studio; sangyeon is their landlord. the birthday fiasco (referenced in the fic) involves the other members of the boyz basically pretending to forget it was juyeon's birthday, only to throw a surprise party for him in the evening. juyeon almost cried. it was terrible.
> 
> come bother me on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/kokkyuri).


End file.
